Cancer is one of the major killers in the United States ranking second only to heart disease in total deaths. Most every family has had at least one cancer victim and most of us can name several people who succumbed to cancer''s unforgiving nature. In this book, When Cancer Hits Home: An Empowered Patient is the Best Weapon Against Cancer , author Patrick MaGuire, MD discusses specific types of cancer along with the odds of getting different types, treatments available, survival rates, etc. Book Facts and Figures: 264 pages in total length, When Cancer Hits Home is divided into the following sections: When Cancer Hits Home (Introduction) Part I: Reduce Your Cancer Risk Part II: Cancer Treatment Options for the Twenty Most Common Types References and Resources After a brief introduction, When Cancer Hits Home starts off with some information on cancer and its prevention. In this section, the reader is introduced to some obvious ways to reduce cancer risk (stop smoking) and some less obvious (like focusing on specific nutrients in the diet). This section also emphasizes the importance of regular medical checkups, mammograms, etc. because early detection is one of the keys to effective cancer treatment. Part II of When Cancer Hits Home identifies the twenty most common types of cancer with facts about each as well as treatment options and their success rates.

This section also includes a personal story from a cancer victim (name changed to protect the innocent), how he/she handled the news and treatment, and the ultimate ending, good or bad, after treatment was received and other steps were taken. Final Thoughts: When Cancer Hits Home is a book about the disease known as cancer; its causes, its prevention; its treatments; and its human toll. This book serves as a reference guide to cancer, explaining the causes of each type, measures each one of us can take to reduce our chance of developing cancer, the actual number of people in the United States who develop cancer, the number who ultimately die from cancer, and so on. Most every one of us can name at least one cancer victim- either in our family, through work, friendships, etc. I have known a few, but the fact of cancer really hit home last year when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. The reality of the big "C" took on a whole new meaning at that point, and my mom has been receiving chemo and other special treatments since. My family had never had a cancer incidence before and this fact made the diagnosis that much harder to swallow. It also spurred my interest and is likely one of the reasons I accepted an offer to read and review this book, When Cancer Hits Home.

I knew very little about cancer and decided it would be a good idea to brush up on my knowledge of this dreaded disease while also learning a little more about the causes and prevention of specific cancer types. When Cancer Hits Home, I must admit, is not the type of book I first expected. Based on its title, I was looking for a collection of personal stories about families and what they did to cope with cancer once it "hit home." I quickly learned that this book is actually more of a reference guide about cancer and I was happy it turned out this way. I didn''t necessarily want to read any more heartbreaking stories about losing loved ones to cancer so the fact that this turned out to be a reference guide suited me just fine. I started reading and was surprised at some of the things I learned. When Cancer Hits Home has certainly helped to improve my cancer IQ and I have found that it contains some obvious information along with some lesser- known facts that can help individuals in both their knowledge of cancer and in their fight against the disease. The obvious preventative measure that comes up repeatedly in this book is that those who smoke should quit immediately in order to lower their cancer risk as much as possible.

Everyone knows this, but When Cancer Hits Home mentions it in multiple places. The book doesn''t push the issue in a preachy kind of way- it mentions smoking in a factual manner. Smoking causes much harm and is a main cause of multiple types of cancer. It therefore makes sense that a reference guide such as this would mentioned it multiple times and it also makes sense that it would recommend that anyone who smokes kicks the habit as soon as possible. Among the less well- known facts about cancer, some of them took me by surprise and really showed how much I needed to learn about this disease. One fact I did not know is that many types of cancer do not run in families and, in fact, more often show in families without any cancer history. There could be absolutely no history of a certain type of cancer at all in a family tree, and yet cancer can end up sneaking in. Now, this is certainly not true of all types of cancer- some certainly do run in families.

But others do not and each and every one of us needs to bear this in mind. When Cancer Hits Home offers many facts and the ones I liked best were those that detail the actual number of cancer occurances each year for each of the twenty most common types of cancer; the odds of any one of us developing each type of cancer; the proportion who survive; and other statistical measurements. These numbers pretty much lay everything on the line, for all to see. Some of them are very sobering and they illustrate the great differences in cancer mortality from one type to the next. This book does include some personal stories. Each of the twenty common types of cancer starts with a personal story about someone who contracted that specific type of cancer. Each story includes a "to be continued" message at first. The cancer type itself is then described and diagnosed, and this is followed by a continuation of the personal story at the end.

Not everyone who develops cancer survives, as we all know too well, and these stories likewise do not all end on a happy note. I am glad that the author, Dr. Patrick MaGuire, wrote the personal stories in this manner. Many, similar books try to be too optimistic and include only success stories. But this is unrealistic and I think it was a good idea to include a balanced mixture of happy and unhappy endings. Overall, When Cancer Hits Home is a good, practical book about this thing called cancer and I feel I know much more than I previously did about this disease, its causes, its treatments, etc. Cancer has certainly hit home for me and any further information I can find about cancer is welcome news as my family continues to deal with this disease from one day to the next. Review: Top 500 Amazon Reviewer, Bryan Carey.